*sorry this is a duplicate I accidentally posted the first one in the Nepal sub forum and didn’t know how to delete it!
I love Lehigh University’s campus. It’s basically my dream. The only thing is that the school doesn’t have my intended major, which I’m also pretty much in love with. Would it be dumb to sacrifice my major for a “pretty” school, the logical side of my brain says I’m an idiot, but it’s really tempting and there are some other majors that I’m fairly interested in just not as much as the one I intend to study. Sometimes I see myself making the sacrifice for a really pretty campus. I guess I’m asking how stupid this is?
I’m moving my reply over to this post from your other post as this is a better spot for it.
“Would it be dumb to sacrifice my major for a “pretty” school”
Yes, it would. There are so many pretty colleges in the US.
What major are you interested in and what about Lehigh specifically do you find attractive? Certain kind of architecture? I’m sure posters can make some suggestions of schools for you to consider. I get the aesthetic thing though. It’s inspiring to be on an attractive campus for 4 years.
I want to major is exercise science/ kinesiology- then go to med school. Sadly, It’s not a very popular major and I’m having trouble finding schools that I think are good looking that have my major.
Female, 27 on the ACT (ouch! - but got a 36 and a 32 in reading and English and a perfect score on the writing section so hopefully can write pretty good essays), 8 AP classes - taking four this year and took four last year. Got three fives and one four, I’ve gotten all As except a B last year and one B- freshman year. @doschicos
I’m no expert on that major but using the SuperMatch tool to the left, two schools that came up that are attractive and seem to offer the major are Smith and St. Olaf.
Of course, if you are certain that me school is your goal, there are a lot of majors you can consider.
Hopefully, some other posters familiar with exercise science/ kinesiology and the med school path will chime in.
Have you looked into the University of Michigan? It is a large university, but its School of Kines is small and intimate. Check it out. The campus is actually quite nice.
I don’t think you’re an idiot! Honesty, you are young and you have your whole life ahead of you. If Lehigh is your dream environment and feels like home to you…go for it! Lehigh must have other majors that will qualify you for medical school? IMO, college is a very special experience and I think (after the initial adjustment period) you should love every minute of it. The whole experience is as much a part of your maturity and growth as the degree you earn. Most people change their minds on both majors and careers anyway. I have not been to Lehigh but I agree the pictures are beautiful and its an excellent school. Many, many times when you are an adult you will have to do what is right rather than follow your heart. This is the one time in your life when you don’t have to focus on anyone but yourself. Follow your heart.
If you’re really sure about your major, then yes, that would not be a very mature decision.
If this school is pulling you because part of you isn’t sure what you want to do, and it’s expressing itself this way, then it’s probably not a bad choice for a school.
I think you can have both. Use supermatch to generate a list of schools that have your preferred major. Then go to youtube or google image to get visuals. I’m sure there must be campuses that fulfill both criteria. As mentioned upthread, St. Olaf is very beautiful and its library is very Hogwarts-like. If you are OK with cold winters, it might be an option.
Listen to the logical side of your brain. You’re going to college to get a degree. There are some things you can sacrifice for a prettier campus - maybe the climate isn’t ideal, or they don’t have a club you were hoping for - but major is the absolute number one thing you cannot compromise on. That would be an immature decision.
Also, unpopular opinion, but pretty campuses are a bit overrated. When I was at Penn, at first it was amazing and beautiful, but after a couple of weeks it just becomes “yup, that’s the ornate zoology building” and “mhm, there’s the gothic revival college hall.” It’s nice, but after a while it just becomes your home. Not saying you should go to a concrete slab somewhere, but the awe you feel at the pretty campus will fade while you’ll still be stuck without the major you want.
Your english, reading and writing scores are terrific, but if I’m looking at your post correctly, a 27 ACT with a 36 in reading and a 32 in English, means you scored around 20 on math and science, which is below the college readiness benchmark. That’s going to be an issue at a school like Lehigh and others of the same caliber. If you are thinking of med school, you are going to have to demonstrate greater proficiency in those areas.
Doesn’t offer your major but does well in preparing students for med school, take a look at Bryn Mawr. One of the prettiest colleges - just stunning. Great setting - bucolic campus but very easy access to Philly by commuter train (15-20 minutes, the college will even offer passes for free transport. Philly access allows for great dining, museums and other art venues, live music. Part of the Bi-college with Haverford and quaker consortium with Haverford, Swarthmore, Penn.
Based on your test scores, you do seem very strong in reading/writing as opposed to science/math so I do echo some of @wisteria100’s concerns above.
When I was choosing colleges a (wise) older cousin of mine advised me not to pick a school based on the campus because after a while you get accustomed to whatever campus you are on. Things like quality of education, your peer group, strength in intended major, fit etc, are much more important in the long run. I followed his advice and chose a school that had a nice (not ideal) campus which was perfect for my academic interests – I never regretted it for a second.
@TooOld4School My S went to Fordham which was one of the schools ranked as one of the colleges with the worst food at the time and he could not have had a better college experience anywhere (I’m sure it helped that Arthur Avenue was nearby and that for the last two years he had a kitchen in his suite) – but even bad food can be a surmountable obstacle if everything else is right.
@wisteria100 so the 36 and 32 were from two tests. - which I plan to send both
One sitting- 30, 32, 24(science),24 +32 in writing
Second sitting- 36, 30, 22,22 +36 in writing
I also took two ther ACT tests and the results were pretty much the same…
So my super score(based off these tests) is a 29, but not many schools actually use this.
Despite what my test scores say I’m actually very good at science it school, but clearly my ability to read graphs quickly is lacking…
